Around the Hornet: Dunleavy out, Hughes in

Whether it was the Clippers underachieving 21-28 record, or the team's 2-6 record on their most recent road trip, Mike Dunleavy has made the decision to step down as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers after six seasons at the helm.

He will remain the team’s general manager. In the six seasons as Head Coach, the Clippers have only made one playoff appearance, back in 2006 when they were one game away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals. 

Despite having another talented roster that includes Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, Marcus Camby, and Baron Davis and five players averaging more than 10 points per-game, the Clippers are seven games under .500 and currently hold the 12th seed in the western conference. 

The positive thing that the Clippers have going, would be that the No. 8 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, (28-21) are not too distant and a couple of winning streaks could put the once so promising Clippers back into the playoff picture. 

Taking over for Dunleavy will be long time Clipper Assistant Kim Huges, who will allow Davis to play more of his style of basketball.  Since being acquired from the Golden State Warriors, it has been evident that Davis never really got used to playing Dunleavy’s half-court offense; Davis is a guy who has been successful when he has had the freedom to run the full-court offense and has shown his frustrations at times. 

The Clippers have the athletes required to run the type of offense that Davis was utilized as a member of the Warriors.  Why Dunleavy never instilled that type of offense will no longer be a question that Clipper fans will have to ponder.

Dunleavy’s decision to step down as head coach and just worry about his GM duties could be the start of something big for the team that has championship banners in their arena, only thing is, those banners belong to their co-tenant. (Los Angeles Lakers)

Injuries have ridiculed the Clippers, but perhaps what has made the Clippers one of the NBA’s worst franchises is their inability to draft. Dunleavy has shown the ability to draft talent; he has been responsible for the last three drafts in which the Clippers drafted Al Thorton, Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin.

This offseason there will big names available for the taking (LeBron James, Dewayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki) although adding Rasual Butler and Craig Smith this past off-season the Clippers will still have an generous salary cap to lure a big name this upcoming free-agency.